Design and Appearance
A lot of people are far more concerned with performance, features, and weight when they're shopping for a new notebook, but appearance can also play a role.
HP is touting their "Radiance" design with the dv6500t. A lot of laptop manufacturers are now doing similar things, but the basic summary is that the pattern seen on the above picture is actually part of the plastic shell and won't wear off over time. Our picture doesn't show it very well, but the swirly lines theme continues on the palm rest below the keyboard when you open the lid. It may not win best of show at a beauty contest, but the dv6500t is still reasonably attractive and not something most people would be embarrassed to tote around.
Taking a look at the various sides of the laptop, this is the frontal view. Again, note that there are two headphone jacks so you and someone else can both listen to audio at the same time. The audio jacks cannot be configured to work in other modes, so for example it is not possible to output 5.1 audio. To the left of the audio jacks is the infrared receiver, and on the far left (and barely visible) is a switch to turn the wireless networking on or off.
The extended capacity 12-cell battery makes a pretty major difference in how the laptop rests on a flat surface, so we are including shots from the various angles with a standard 6-cell battery as well as the 12-cell battery. The left side of the laptop is home to the majority of the external connections, including two USB ports, a mini-FireWire port, a flash memory reader, network/modem jacks, VGA, TV out, and the proprietary Expansion Port 3. The latter is for use with docking stations/port replicators.
On the right side of the laptop, we find another USB port, and the power socket is that the rear of the laptop. The optical drive takes up the majority of the space, and that the front of the laptop is an ExpressCard/54 expansion slot.
A lot of people are far more concerned with performance, features, and weight when they're shopping for a new notebook, but appearance can also play a role.
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HP is touting their "Radiance" design with the dv6500t. A lot of laptop manufacturers are now doing similar things, but the basic summary is that the pattern seen on the above picture is actually part of the plastic shell and won't wear off over time. Our picture doesn't show it very well, but the swirly lines theme continues on the palm rest below the keyboard when you open the lid. It may not win best of show at a beauty contest, but the dv6500t is still reasonably attractive and not something most people would be embarrassed to tote around.
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Taking a look at the various sides of the laptop, this is the frontal view. Again, note that there are two headphone jacks so you and someone else can both listen to audio at the same time. The audio jacks cannot be configured to work in other modes, so for example it is not possible to output 5.1 audio. To the left of the audio jacks is the infrared receiver, and on the far left (and barely visible) is a switch to turn the wireless networking on or off.
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The extended capacity 12-cell battery makes a pretty major difference in how the laptop rests on a flat surface, so we are including shots from the various angles with a standard 6-cell battery as well as the 12-cell battery. The left side of the laptop is home to the majority of the external connections, including two USB ports, a mini-FireWire port, a flash memory reader, network/modem jacks, VGA, TV out, and the proprietary Expansion Port 3. The latter is for use with docking stations/port replicators.
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On the right side of the laptop, we find another USB port, and the power socket is that the rear of the laptop. The optical drive takes up the majority of the space, and that the front of the laptop is an ExpressCard/54 expansion slot.
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JarredWalton - Friday, June 22, 2007 - link
They shipped the notebook with an ABG adapter (test setup on page 7). Of course, I don't have an N network right now anyway... GbE all the way, baby!nsparadox - Friday, June 22, 2007 - link
Hey Jarred,You wrote the entire article in the passive voice. Could you please try to write in the active voice?
crimson117 - Friday, June 22, 2007 - link
I would prefer the future perfect voice.JarredWalton - Friday, June 22, 2007 - link
Can't say I was necessarily 100% awake while writing it. Sorry if it was too passive for you. Perhaps in a perfect future I will manage to rewrite things better, maybe?bldckstark - Friday, June 22, 2007 - link
Thanks for the article guys, I am sure many other AT readers appreciate the work you hav put in on notebooks recently.I would like to see some more tests done on what I like to call "real world" notebooks. The ones I see most people buying for mobility purposes. These usually have 10 - 13" screens and have everything this HP has except the horrid battery life.
I just bought my wife a Lenovo notebook with a Vista business, Intel C2D, 2GB ram, DVD burner, 3 USB 2.0, 1 Firewire, Express card slot, flash memory reader, webcam, fingerprint reader, 6 cell battery and a 12.1" screen for only $1250 after rebate. This one gets 255 minutes of battery life and weighs only 4.4lbs with the 6 cell.
A friend at work has a 10" screen notebook that gets over 8 hours of battery life. He carries it around like a pad of paper all day.
I know several people with convertibles that love them, and they all have 12.1" screens.
My point is that if it has a 15.4" screen it is really a DTR, and should be outfitted like one. Not like a high mobility at the same price, worse battery life, and 50% weight increase. Please try to squeeze some of these into your testing in the future.
JarredWalton - Friday, June 22, 2007 - link
We actually have a smaller Tablet PC that we're in the process of reviewing. I think part of the problem is that companies are afraid we'll tear into the lappys that don't have great gaming performance or whatever. Hopefully, we'll be able to do more ultraportable laptop reviews in the future....